Vampire Apocalypse:

A How to Guide on Basic First Aid, Safety and an expansion on your Knowledge of the Enemy.
By: Courtney Witzman. 4th Period. 5/29/2010.

Vampire Apocalypse: A How to Guide on Basic First Aid, Safety, and an Expansion on your Knowledge of the Enemy.

Apocalypse: any universal or widespread destruction or disaster. (Dictionary.com) Im sure you have never given much thought as to what would need to be done in order to survive a vampire apocalypse. Such a horrifying thing is incomprehensible for most people with the average IQ. However, there have been apocalypses before. There just havent been many people left to tell their story. There is only one known long term survivor of an apocalypse, Robert Neville. Neville survived the vampire apocalypse of the late 1970s on planet Earth. After reading his journal of his time alive as the only man on his planet and doing some research on other known apocalypses, I have decided it necessary to write a guide in order to help you live through these new, strange, and terrifying times. Hopefully you do know what my guide will cover, since there was a title at the beginning of it. However, I will explain for those readers who do not.

The purpose of this guide is to inform you, the reader, on basic first aid and safety and to expand your knowledge of the enemy. I do hope that you at least know that the enemy is the vampire. If you dont, I dont think my guide will do you any good at all. We will start with first aid and safety. There are some very important things you will need to note on this topic. First, basic injuries you may encounter while trying to survive and how to treat them. Such injuries may include: Blisters: Blisters are very common and are something that everyone gets every once in a while. You can get a blister from something as simple as wearing shoes that are too tight. However, this does not mean that blisters are not painful. To treat a blister you will simply need to apply medical tape over it to exert pressure so the blister will burst. If the blister does not burst it may be necessary to prick it with a sterilized needle. You can sterilize a needle by passing it through a flame. *Note- You should not try to burst blood filled blisters. To prevent blisters ensure that your shoes fit correctly and keep feet and shoes as dry as possible. Wet shoes, sandals, boots, socks, etc, will cause blisters much more quickly than dry ones (Sports Injury Clinic). Cuts: Cuts are one of the most common forms of injury. Though, if not treated properly, they can become very serious. To treat a cut clean it very thoroughly, apply antibacterial cream or peroxide, and cover with a band aid. Be sure to change the band aid, clean, and reapply antibacterial cream or peroxide every day or every other day to prevent infection. There really is no way to prevent cuts, except to stay away from anything sharp and not fall down or run into anything. These, however, are almost impossible tasks unless you

wish to wait inside your house calmly until you die from starvation or the vampires find a way inside. Sprains: A Sprain is an injury to a ligament(s) that is caused by being stretched beyond their normal capacity. Some symptoms may include: Pain, of course, swelling, bruising, and decreased ability to move the joint. If you do sprain something, youre going to want to make sure you rest. Dont push the inflicted joint. This might be difficult to avoid during these troubled times, but if you want to make a full recovery and avoid further damage you are going to want to rest your injury as much as possible. Also, you will also want to apply ice to the sprain as soon and often as possible in order to reduce swelling and pain. Depending on the amount of pain youre in you may want to consider taking some kind of muscle relaxer or anti inflammatory. You will need to keep the sprain elevated, like ice, this will help reduce swelling. In addition to the later, you will want to keep the sprain compressed. Proper dressings, bandages, or ace wraps should be used to provide support for the sprain once you begin to move around once more (About.com). Like cuts, there really is no way to prevent a sprain other than to be careful. However, if your shoes provide adequate support, you could prevent ankle and/or foot sprains. Dehydration: It may seem like a big word, but dehydration is a simple thing. When youre body is losing more water than its getting, you become dehydrated. This can happen by not drinking enough water or by losing large amounts of water by vomiting, sweating, diarrhea, or exercise. Simple enough. However, just because dehydration does not have a long, complex, medical definition, does not mean it should be taken faint heartedly. If not treated quickly and properly, you will no longer have enough fluid in your body for blood to reach your organs. This will cause your body to go into shock,

which, obviously, is life-threatening. If you become dehydrated, you should drink water or juice, you could also drink a rehydration or sports drink but I doubt you will have these at hand during these times. You should drink two quarts of cool liquids to replace the fluids and minerals that have escaped your body. Over the next week or so you should drink ten glasses of cool liquids every day to continue replacing the lost fluids and minerals. To prevent dehydration you should simply make sure you drink plenty of water, and drink more than that while you are outside in the heat and/or exercising and doing strenuous work (WebMD). Though dehydration does not seem like an actual injury, it is very important that you know how to treat it. Fleeing the vampires will be no easy task if youre dehydrated. Second, supplies to keep at hand at all times. It doesnt matter if youre at your house or in the car; you need to make sure that you always have the following items within arms reach: First Aid Kit: this includes anti bacterial cream, band aids, some kind of wrap or brace for sprains, etc. Water. Garlic: this is to ward off the vampires; we will get into this later. A weapon: I dont care if its a knife, a gun, maybe you should have both if you can; just keep some kind of defense weapon with you everywhere you go. A snack: Yes, a snack. If youre out during the day trying to get things done before the vampires come a knocking and you get hungry, you arent going to have time to turn around and go home to get a snack. So keep one with you, especially if you have children.

Pain relievers: Again, the day time doesnt last as long as it seems to now. You wont have time to run home if you have a headache and pick up some Advil. So, keep some with you.

These things are just the basics. There might be other things that you know you need, so keep them with you. Make a check list of the essentials I listed and any other things you think youll need. Check to make sure you always have the supplies in the house and in your car. If you run out of something, get more of it immediately. Dont forget. You cant risk forgetting in this world. If you have short term memory loss, Im sorry. You probably wont last. Now, well try to boost your knowledge of the enemy. We know the enemy is the vampire. Well I would hope that you know. Im sure you have a general idea of what a vampire is; a nocturnal, blood thirsty, monster. But this is a very vague description and will, by most means, not serve to help you during the time that these monsters are taking over our world. To have a proper knowledge of the vampire, you will need to know the following things: First, what is causing the people of our planet, our family and friends, to turn into these blood thirsty beasts? The story of Robert Neville answers this question for us: Its a bacillusa cylindrical bacterium. It creates an isotonic solution in the blood, circulates the blood slower than normal, activates all bodily functions, lives on fresh blood, and provides energy. Deprived of blood, it makes self-killing bacteriophages or else sporulates. (Matheson 132) In English, its a germ. Neville called this germ vampiris.

Second, how does the germ spread? Neville also answered this:

To sporulate is to create an oval body that has all the basic ingredients of the vegetative bacterium. The germ does that when it gets no fresh blood. Then, when the vampire host decomposes, these spores go flying out and seek new hosts. They find one, germinate-and one more system is infected. (Matheson 132) Third, what are the vampires strengths?

Blood; from what you have read of Nevilles findings, this seems to be the key to the vampires strength. So, since you are a human with a heart that is pumping blood through your veins at all times, I suggest you stay out of the way of the vampires or they will suck your blood. And that just sounds uncomfortable, doesnt it? Fourth, how do we destroy a vampire?

Well, garlic can be used to ward the vampires away from your home. Garlic alone, however will not destroy them. It will simply create enough of an annoyance and discomfort to them that they will leave your home alone. To kill a vampire you can either: a) Put them in sunlight: If you feel brave enough to go vampire hunting during the day while the vampires are sleeping, or rather in their coma, you can simply pick them up and chuck them outside into the sunlight. Or,

b) Find some way to let oxygen enter their body: You can do this by stabbing them with a steak or ripping off a limb. If you let the oxygen in, it kills them. Finally, how can you avoid the vampires?

This is really quite simple. To avoid the vampires, simply do not venture out into the night unless you have a death wish. Vampires are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and roam during the night, like an owl. When the vampires are asleep during the day, they cannot be easily awakened so you do not need to worry about going out during the day time. This is when you should go out, obviously, because you absolutely cant be out while its dark. If you remember that one thing, you will avoid any possible confrontations involving a vampire. Rough times lay ahead. Surviving this apocalypse will be no walk in the park, but if you remember to follow my tips and walk in Robert Nevilles footsteps, maybe you will be the next Vampire Apocalypse survivor.

Works Cited Page: Apocalypse. Dictionary.com. 2010. May 13th 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apocalypse> Blisters-Treatment and Prevention. Sportsinjuryclinic.net. 2010. May 13th 2010.< http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/foot/blisters.htm> Dehydration-Topic Overview. WebMD.com. 2009. May 17th 2010. <http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/tc/dehydration-topicoverview> How to Perform Treatment of a Sprained Ankle. About.com. 2010. May 16th 2010. <http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/sprainsstrains/ht/sprainedankle.htm< Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1995.